Judy Bolton-Fasman lives and writes in Newton. Her memoir, "ASYLUM: A Memoir of Family Secrets," was published in September 2021.
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Trump’s latest target? Free speech
The Trump administration is weaponizing antisemitism by using the excuse of "protecting Jews" to violate constitutional rights of free speech and due process, writes Judy Bolton-Fasman in the latest installment...
Welcoming the light in this season of darkness
Hanukkah and Christmas fall on the same day in 2024, a calendar coincidence that's happened only nine times since 1900 and won't happen again until 2052. The light from both...
As I say a prayer of mourning, my heart is in the East
I want to transform stories of Israelis terrorized into an improvised Mourner’s Kaddish, or prayer of mourning, for my brothers and sisters, writes Judy Bolton-Fasman.
'Language is blood; language is family’ — even if I’m losing my Spanish
I know my Spanish grammar is in tatters and my fluency is slipping by the day, writes Judy Bolton-Fasman. Yet I remain fiercely Latinx.
Rabbi Harold Kushner asked God tough questions and shared the answers with all of us
Jewish lore says that in every generation, the fate of the world depends on 36 righteous people. I believe Rabbi Harold Kushner was one of them, writes Judy Bolton-Fasman.
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Raquel Welch and me
Raquel Welch didn't fully embrace her Bolivian heritage until the early 2000s, some 40 years into her career. But in the end, Raquel and I found our roots, and would...
I’ve always been terrible at drawing. Can I learn in my 60s?
Each time I turn in a portrait, my teacher shakes his head sadly and says, No, no, no, writes Judy Bolton-Fasman.
I'd never worn the Star of David. That changed in 2022
After the Colleyville hostage crisis, I wanted to publicly identify as a Jew, writes Judy Bolton-Fasman.
I can't recall a time I've been more scared as a Jew
Maybe we of the Jewish faith are the ultimate optimists, sending prayers to a God who has not obviously been moved to tears by our suffering, writes Judy Bolton-Fasman.
'His Legacy Was His Patriotism': My Father's American Dream
Judy Bolton-Fasman thinks about her father a lot on July Fourth, a holiday he loved. Lately, she wonders whether his uncomplicated version of this country’s ideals holds up.